The above-referenced U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/943,232 discloses an ad hoc emergency interoperability communication network which is established by providing universal temporary incident area network modules that communicate with each other on a network using a common frequency and modulation format such as provided by 802.11. In one embodiment the ad hoc network is established when vehicles containing the temporary incident area network modules are within range of each other. The temporary incident area network modules are such as to have an RF or other connection with handheld or in-vehicle communications devices of whatever variety that have standardized voice, data and push-to-talk channels. Upon receipt of a transmission from the standard transceiver, the signals are converted to the common network frequency and format and transmitted around the network. The system thus allows communications amongst the responders to an incident without having to set up prearranged protocols, equipment compatibilities, or equipment addressing.
Moreover, command and control structure can be achieved through an incident commander having access through his own temporary incident area network module to be able to route and control the flow of information of the net. Portable temporary incident area network modules may be provided to provide range extension capabilities, for instance, for battery-powered handheld modules. Moreover, in one embodiment, switches are provided on the communications equipment for the individual to be able to have the communications equipment switched between the ad hoc temporary incident area network and the closed network of the department for whom the individual works.
It should be noted that after every major incident, many reports are written where the first responder is required to record from memory the sequence of events, and in as much detail as possible. These reports are reviewed and analyzed to learn how to improve first responder activities. However, the accuracy of these reports is dependent upon the memory the individuals. Also, reports from various agencies have to be manually integrated in a time sequence.
The result of such prior art reporting is that the reporting is time consuming and inaccurate and depends on the recall of individuals embroiled in a crisis situation. Moreover, manual integration of many reports to provide a full description of an incident can take weeks or even months.
Thus, regardless of the ability to provide for ad hoc communications between individuals of different departments using differing communications equipment, there is a need for real-time recording so as to be able to quickly analyze the crisis situation at the time of the incident, to be able to plan for a real-time response at the incident scene as well as to provide post-incident reporting and to be able to enable post-incident re-creation and analysis, that inter alia assists in training as well as evaluation of the response to the incident.
Presently, first responders have very limited recording capability, if any. If a responding agency arrives at a scene and they are connected to their own dispatch organization, at least as to that dispatch organization there may or may not be recording of the communications from the incident.
However, if there is a second responding agency with a dissimilar radio, individuals carrying these radios might not be connected to the same dispatch organization, thus precluding recording of the entire incident. Thus, for multiple responders, one dispatch organization might be recording a conversation from one first responder, whereas another dispatch organization might be recording a conversation from another first responder. The result is a disjointed and incomplete record of what is transpiring at the incident scene.
With the provision of interoperability comes the ability to piece together what is happening at an incident scene in real time. In so doing, one would like to be able to provide the incident commander with the ability to go back in time and look at pieces of data, which may include sensor data, the positions of where people are at a certain time, and be able to instantly understand what is happening at the incident scene.
For instance, one might have someone who is walking through a building when a sensor goes off and one might want to go back and find out the location of the sensor and download its information.
Typically, one would also like to go back and review, like an instant replay, what is happening at the incident scene. One would also like to be able to give the incident commanders a slow-motion view of what has just happened and be able to go back and look at what has been collected just minutes ago and use the information to perform the particular service without having to put someone in harm's way to go in and figure out what happened. Moreover, with location information one can pinpoint through map overlays exactly what has happened where and to put it on a timeline.
If the incident commander could be provided with a timeline and a map overlay, one could for instance determine a HAZMAT hotspot, its location, the time of occurrence, and the level of danger caused by such HAZMAT threat.
In addition to real-time processing to be able to provide an incident commander with updated information by which he can direct his forces to operate more efficiently and safely, one would like to be able to give the incident commander, and in fact all involved in post-incident analysis the data from the incident and make it available hours or days later. The post-incident data could include first responder position, sensor data, and video information obtained from the scene.
What is therefore also needed in post-incident analysis is a convenient format to provide a timeline display that is meaningful in terms of what is happening at the incident scene, not only for near-real-time playback but also for post-incident reporting, post-incident re-creation and analysis, and follow-on training.
Therefore there needs to be a convenient system of providing both real-time and post-incident reporting when using the aforementioned ad hoc emergency interoperability communications network.